In thinking I'm stuffed so I may as well not bother

[Ryoko]

Still under contract, not able to work full-time, been refused part-time waiting for Night shift to be re-instated as thats the only shift I can do(god knows when that will be).

Been moaned at by people to just quit and get a new job as I get no money when I'm not working and can't sign on because I'm still employed.

Can't see the point in quitting because I can only do night work and who's going to employ someone with a six month old?.

Bumpty bump

should I stay or should I go (do doodododododo)

Hi Ryoko - can you supply a bit more info? Why have your night shifts finished (assuming I am rading this correctly)? What does your contract stipulate in way of notice of any changes? Why were you refused PT?

Give us more insight - am at a loss with any thoughts until I understand more, sorry.

Do you have a Royal Mail centre near to you? They sometimes do shift work up to Christmas. Or supermarkets do night work if they're 24 hour.

The fact that you have a child is irrelevant as long as you can arrange child care.

I can't see the point in remaining employed but not working if you don't know when the night shift will happen.

I don't quite get this, either, what is the job (or general area)?

Who are these 'people'?

Quite hard to say if YABU/YANBU given the lack of detail.

I'm employed under a zero hour contract system, I get paid per hour for work done, so if there is no work I get no pay, I clock in at work using an electronic card thats how my pay is worked out, the work is based on the work load, I work in the entertainment sector (sod it I'll say video games) the work load varies across the year so at maximum capacity the company employs 3 shifts making the place 24hours a day.

At the moment as all the Christmas stuff was done months ago there is only 1 shift, during hours I can't work full-time, I asked to do 2 days a week and was told they could not accommodate such a request, so I have to wait until the work picks up enough for Night shift to start again, the only shift I can do FT.

Under my contract if I wish to work elsewhere even if I am not working at the time I must request permission from management to apply for a different line of work, and I am flat out not allowed to work for anyone else in this industry under my contract as it's a breach of confidentiality agreement to work for a company in the same industry while under contract or within 1 month of quitting/ getting sacked from this job.

I have no experience of any other kind of work BTW.

I all so have no child care, which is why I will have to work nights.

I suppose it depends on how long you can go without pay till work picks up and you can earn some money. How long do you expect no night shifts to last? Seems mad to give up a good job for a coupe of weeks. But couple of months is a different story

Pfft early next year, I'm not paying for anything, DF got promoted to manager 2 weeks after our son was born, he pays rent and all that.

So I'm not desperate to work, I just think what with me only having experience in that field of work and having a kid, no one else will employ me and in order to work in the industry I have experience in, I'd have to quit but then everywhere is the same, not much to work on anywhere at the moment, the night shifts will start everywhere at about the same time, because of the time frames within the industry, everyone releases the big titles at the same time you see.

First off, your employer cannot enforce that contract clause about not working in same sector within one month of you leaving their employment as it's tantamount to slavery! That might be too string a term but I really doubt they would sue for specific performance unless you were a director or something.

Secondly, stop doing yourself down. Yes, experience within a sector is important but it's not essential. I'm sure you have plenty of relevant skills which are transferable. I'm guessing you work in retail or warehouse/distribution so you can get work elsewhere. you just have to promote those skills which are common to other sectors.

If you really don't need the work then I wouldn't worry too much about it. If your employer can't give you work at Christmas, their busiest time of year, then you're not likely to get much work after Christmas either. I'd cut my losses, hand in your notice and look for a decent job for an employer who values you. Enjoy your first Christmas with your baby :)

You might not get JSA as it sounds like you won't have paid sufficient contributions but you should sign on for your NI contributions at least.

Also stop thinking that people won't employ you because you have a kid. They don't even need to know as it's your private life. As long as you can do the job then it's none of your employer's business. Yes it might be more difficult to get the job you want that fits in with the demands of your home life, but it's not impossible.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Well if its a quirk of the industry you're in ie work tails off around Xmas then you should probably jut factor it in to your annual salary expectations. Its a bit like people working in retail know they will get more hours around Christmas time - except the reverse for you.

If you don't really need the money at the moment, but want to keep up your experience levels then it sounds ideal bearing in mind that you are setting your own hours.

I'm a games tester, thats all I've ever been, I don't really think theres anything that is a transferable skill, we use specialist PC QA software packages and play games all day thats it.

The industry all does things at the same time, so like I said if one company has no night shift at a particular time none of them do, because they are all stupid and like to flood the market with titles at the same time, instead of releasing them steadily across the year.

Can anyone advise me about child care, I don't earn enough to make it worth paying for it, whats the free government thing about I heard you get vouchers for a set amount that is only enough to afford 2 days of care? (thats no good for my job but maybe enough for a little PT thing while I wait if I can)

whats call of duty black ops like???

I'm sorry you're having such a shit time

What about general software testing work - sounds like you have a transferable skill to me.

Also, a lot of the big shops take on extra staff for nightshifts at this time of the year and often you don't need specific experience.

Shop night shift isn't night enough (if you see what I mean) DF doesn't come home from work until half 6-7pm so work for me needs to start at 8pm or later depending on distance.

COD Black Ops has a review curfew in place until tomorrow so no one can tell you what it's like yet as it isn't out until tomorrow anyway (I never trust games with review curfews on them IMO they have something to hide).

Tesco night shift is 10pm-7am generally - I would imagine most supermarkets would be the same. They tend to look for temporary staff in the run up to Christmas - might be worth a shot.